Friday, August 17, 2012

Jane Friedman: How To Build An Awesome Twitter Bio

It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of Twitter in building my author platform. My Twitter Bio is my public face on Twitter, it's the first thing folks see and also what they use when deciding if I'm the sort the tweeter they want to follow.

Every writer owes it to themselves to make their Twitter bio the absolute best it can be. Enter Jane Friedman and her blog post

Jane breaks the Twitter bio into four components:

1. Photo
2. Name and handle
3. 160 character bio
4. Link

Jane Friedman goes into much more detail, here is the Coles Notes version:

2. Name and handleName: Use your real name or a pen name. This is part of your platform so you want people to be able to find you easily. Handle: You probably won't be able to come close to your real name, don't worry about it. Just pick something easy to remember and type.Tip: Jane suggests not putting "author" as part of either your name or your handle.

3. 160 character bioBad:
- Inspirational quotes or aphorisms
- Excess marketing
- A description that is so general it could fit anyone.Good:

- Tell people what you do. If you're a writer, tell them that.
- Let people know what you'll be tweeting about.
- Add some personality. People like humor.

Jane writes:

As far as that third item [add some personality], it’s popular for people to mention their
hometowns or states, the universities they graduated from, or other
things we share in meet-and-greet environments. That little bit of
personality is more often than not what starts a conversation on
Twitter. For me, it’s bourbon and usually my city of residence. (I do
highly advocate listing your location—again, it’s likely to spark more
connections.)

Leave a link to your digital home. For most folks this will be a website or perhaps a blog. If you don't have a digital home and you're a writer hoping to sell your work, what are you waiting for? Get one! (This article may help: How To Build A Platform: Why Every Writer Needs A Website.)